Consumer interest in flat panel TVs combined with falling prices paints a bright picture for TV manufacturers, vendors and resellers, according to the latest survey from IDC.

A survey of online respondents worldwide shows the future of TV is flat. Respondents expressed strong interest in both plasma and LCD displays. While less than a quarter of consumers surveyed globally reported owning a flat screen TV, that number tripled in terms of the number of respondents who plan to purchase a flat panel TV by the end of this year.

High-quality video is the main force driving the adoption of the new and emerging digital TVs. More than half of IDC survey respondents considered HD compatibility as an extremely important factor influencing their decisions to replace their current TVs. An overwhelming majority said they did not currently subscribe to HD programming.

While HD compatibility ranks high for influencing flat panel buying decisions, IDC found TV pricing ranks even higher for survey respondents. In fact, TV price concerns towered over all others on the list including display technology, screen size and brand. More than 60 percent of respondents (all of whom fell into a high-income demographic) said they expected to pay less than $2,000 for their new TVs.

The findings of the survey are available in “IDC 2006 TV Survey: Panel Power to the People — Part I and Part II.” The online-based survey asked consumers a wide range of questions about their current TV ownership, how TV form-factor variables influence their future buying plans, as well as brand and reseller preferences.